folklore saves town i forgot which coastal town this was... or which TV station featured a story on them.

there is a small island in the indian ocean whose population escaped the tsunami by following folklore. a fisherman explains it in simple, awed terms, that when the tides change earlier and farther than they normally do, it is time to flee after animals already headed for higher ground. the fishermen said that that sort of thing happened around the 1880s, and knowledge of it had been passed generation to generation.

the town implemented their own tsunami warning system and sent everyone to higher ground when the tides shifted rather later in the morning (around 8 a.m. local time) the day after christmas. sure enough, the tsunami came. most everyone was safe.

there was this other island in the indian ocean, along the tsunami's path, whose airstrip and population also had been spared. i can't remember if it were the same island. but the island's governor said they've been waiting for five days before the airplane came with provisions. he said they would have notified mainland sooner had they still had the equipment to.

this town's story is yet another reminder to me that no story, however unlikely, should be taken for granted.

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curious thing: tsunami travel time  ¶ 1/08/2005 04:58:00 AM